Michael Freeman, Israel’s ambassador to Nigeria, has levelled accusations against Iran, saying that the Islamic republic backs terrorist organisations with the goal of destabilising nations in order to further its animosity against Israel.
During an interview on Arise News’s The Morning Show on Friday, Freeman made the comments.
The envoy made the argument that Iran, with its repeated threats against Israel, is the only UN member state that openly declares its goal to destroy another sovereign state.
To achieve this goal, he claims, the Iranian government has, for decades, provided financial and other forms of support to terrorist organisations and militant groups all across the globe.
Iran, according to Freeman, has supported terrorist organisations like Hezbollah and Hamas. He also claimed that Tehran was responsible for the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas.
He went on to say that other countries of the world, including Europe, Australia, and Africa, had witnessed Iranian operations meant to sow discord.
Regarding Nigeria in particular, the Israeli envoy made the accusation that the Iranian government backs the Islamic Movement of Nigeria.
Freeman claims that public remarks by senior Iranian officials, such as social media posts by Ali Khamenei, have explicitly acknowledged these connections.
“Iran is the central issue here,” he stated. Among all the member states of the UN, Iran is the only one with an open desire to eradicate another nation. There is no mistaking Iran’s proclaimed goal: the annihilation of Israel. The only way to ensure that no government or nation has the intention—or even the hint of a desire—to destroy Israel is to eliminate Israel entirely.
They’ve done everything they can to make that happen, as we’ve seen over the past 47 years. Their support for terrorist groups is well-documented. They were the ones responsible for the Hamas atrocity on October 7th. They have been seen endorsing Hezbollah. We’ve witnessed their performances across Europe. In Australia, we saw them perform. They’ve already performed in Nigeria.
“These individuals are spreading discord around the world in an effort to achieve their goal of destroying Israel. Israel will not tolerate the possession of nuclear weapons by any nation that has openly declared its desire to possess such weapons in order to destroy Israel.”
In my opinion, there is sufficient documentation. We are aware of the fact that the Iranian government supports and sponsors some activities; for instance, the Islamic movement in Nigeria. That has been proven by the Iranian government, thus it is not my opinion.
On X, the Supreme Leader expressed his backing and support. So it’s pretty open. In addition to destabilising Nigeria and the rest of West Africa, Iran is active in other regions as well.